Judge David Doty: I thought I was done with the NFL

Posted by Michael David Smith on June 14, 2012, 7:37 PM EDT

AP

After nearly two decades of overseeing the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, Judge David Doty thought that came to an end when Judge Susan Nelson took the baton with the settlement of Tom Brady v. NFL and the new CBA last year. But that might not be the case.

The union wants to reopen the Reggie White v. NFL antitrust case because the union alleges that the NFL owners engaged in collusion under the old CBA, and that means Doty may not be done yet.

“I thought it was all done and it had moved down the street with the Brady case. Judge Nelson did a hell of a job,” Doty told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “There’s still a question about whether I should be able to sit on it or if Judge Nelson should sit on it, a new generation kind of thing. I’m not sure because I don’t know what the NFL’s going to do. . . . I thought it was all over and I was going to be able to tell all the stories I’d love to tell.”

Reading the 83-year-old Doty’s comments, you get the sense that he feels like Roger Murtaugh, saying, “I’m too old for this [stuff].” And you also get the sense that, after all these years of closely monitoring the business of professional football, he’s not as high on its future as most league observers are.

“I’m wondering if at some point the bubble theory will overtake sports,” Doty said. “I thought it would happen long before but this bubble seems to get bigger. I’m wondering if something is going to happen that will burst the bubble of sports and huge salaries and huge stadiums that are subsidized by taxpayers.”

The NFLPA’s accusation of collusion in the wake of the NFL-imposed penalties on the Redskins and Cowboys for exceeding a salary cap that didn’t exist in 2010 is a new wrinkle in the ongoing battle between the owners and the union, and a case that has Doty lamenting that just when he thought he was out, they’re pulling him back in.

20 responses to “Judge David Doty: I thought I was done with the NFL”

This whole thing is still dirty pool on the part of DeMaurice Smith. He agreed to the punishments because doing so raised the salary cap and saved his job, and now that he’s been re-elected, he’s suing the NFL claiming that the actions he was part of constituted collusion.

In retrospect, I bet Goodell wishes he had just let the salary cap fall this year.

You’re making me want to pull out the DVDs tonight with your clips from My Cousin Vinny and The Godfather III. And Judge Doty’s making me nervous.

I don’t believe the concussion issue will kill football. New technologies will make the game safer, and the Powers That Be aren’t going to risk billions of dollars in revenues because they’re too cheap to invest in better helmets. But Doty’s right. All this endless fighting over every dollar could eventually lead to a football Armageddon in the courtroom. If these dogs don’t stop tearing at this piece of meat, they’re liable to wind up with a decision no one can stomach.

Retire if u don’t want to do ur job … Ur a judge not a construction worker .. How hard is it to sit on a chair and judge people.
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I’m not surprised this is beyond someone who relies on text-speak, but our legal system is extremely complex. Judges, especially at the federal level, must be well-versed in the law in order to rule on these difficult issues. That requires years and years of study and experience. It’s not a matter of just sitting on a chair and judging people 🙄

Poor Judge Doty!!! I thought he was too, but I never bought into the whole “there’s 10 years of labor peace” talk!!!!

The owners won without hindsight!!! They have the 99% cash spending mechanism over the first two years, they and the commissioner have put the players in a bad position with the conduct policy rulings, and they got somewhat higher of the revenue share. It used to be 50-50, but now it’s between 47-53 and 48-52.